Monday, February 13, 2012

Resolving Conflict in Your Marriage

Today, I'm going to address one of my reader's questions regarding conflict in marriage:

I was wondering if you and your husband could address how you have gotten through times when you did not necessarily agree or feel united together. While I admire your strong marriage, I wonder if you could share times when you and your husband were struggling in your relationship and how you overcame those challenges.

So, has there ever been a time in my marriage that I was at odds with my man?

When we couldn't see eye to eye?

When we weren't on the same page?

When he made me fuming mad?

When he brought this sweet thing to tears?   (lol)

You betcha!

Take two, imperfect, human beings that are filled with sin, put them under the same roof and guess what you get?  CONFLICT, with a capital "C"!

But who enjoys having a marriage like that?  Certainly not me!

So, let me give you some biblical principles that my Beloved and I have applied to our marriage so we can:  decrease the amount of conflict in our marriage,  reach a resolution much quicker so we can remain 'one', and minimize my tears!




Conflict WILL take place in your marriage- expect it!  But this list should help you be prepared to handle it in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.  I've called this list my Marital Manifesto.  It's not an exhaustive list, but rather a starting place.  Feel free to come up with some of your own rules for your marriage.

  • If you want to remain in the center of God’s will, then don’t even mention the idea of getting a divorce*.  Nothing good can come from spewing the word, 'divorce' from your mouth and threatening your spouse with it.  You are tearing down your house when you do so and you're giving place to the enemy.  Make an agreement to not even bring up that word in your marriage no matter how bad the argument or situation is.  You may think your life is bad right now, but going outside of God’s will, will make your life even worse!  His word is clear on that.

"So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  Matthew 19:6

  • Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath.  Work out your conflict before you put your head on the pillow that night…even if it is 3am and you have responsibilities to take of the next day.  Your marriage is more important than those responsibilities.  Give your marriage the priority it deserves.  By going to bed and not resolving your conflict, once again, you are giving place to the enemy to sow seeds of discord in your marriage, not to mention a host of other things that you can dig up in your mind while you stew over the argument, I mean, sleep.

"Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.  Ephesians 4:26,27

  • Choose your words wisely.  Don’t hurler insults because once those words have left your mouth, you can’t take them back.  Yes, your man can forgive you for the harsh and cruel words you said, but that does not mean he'll forget about what you said, what you accused him of, or what you called him.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me...well, let me tell you something about that funny school-yard rhyme:  IT IS A BIG FAT LIE!  Mean words hurt.


Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  Ephesians 4:31 

  • Don't allow seeds of bitterness to grow in your marriage.  If you allow those seeds to grow, it will break down your marital union.  You’ll lose the emotional, spiritual, and physical closeness you once had with your spouse, plus, you'll run the risk of losing respect for your man, and that, my friend, is not a good place to be!  Deal with your issues, don't sweep them under the rug.  Be intentional about resolving your conflict otherwise the weeds of bitterness can choke out the love in your marriage.

Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.  Hebrews 12:15

  • Be mindful of the fact that your spouse is not perfect nor is he designed to be; he does not fill the role of your Savior.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Romans 3:23

  • Be the more mature Christian.  Try to let go of your fleshy desires and apologize first, even if it goes against every fiber of your being!

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

  • Be mindful of Who you belong to and Who you're representing when you have conflict with your spouse.  During your disagreement, ask yourself if what you're saying and how you're acting is pleasing to the Lord?  This one little tip will start to extinguish the 'selfishness flame' real quick in your argument!

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.  1 Corinthians 6:20

Take the time to share some of these ideas with your spouse.  Ask him what his thoughts are and what you guys can add or subtract from this list to better your times of disagreements. Then put those things into practice when the arguments come.

Here's a hint sweet friends.....the more you do those things, the less conflict you'll have in your marriage and the more unity and closeness you'll have with your man! :)

Conflict in marriage certainly makes life difficult.  Our flesh screams for our rights but my encouragement and challenge to you is this:  Be more concerned about building God's kingdom rather than building your own.

Now, this is just a short snippet of how to resolve conflict in your marriage.  You can listen in on our radio show and hear my Beloved and I talk about this topic in much greater lengths- just click the link below.  We also feel the Lord prompting us to do a Part 2 on this topic so we can give you specific examples and more application for your marriage.  I'll keep you posted here when we finish the taping of it.










*Here's two areas where the Bible allows for divorce:  1) if your man has been unfaithful and 2) if he is an unbeliever who wants a divorce.  A note:  If you are in a physically abusive relationship, please do everything you can to protect yourself and family.  This may mean you'll need to separate from your man.



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22 comments:

  1. Your written response has truly blessed my heart. Thank you for responding to my inquiry. I cannot wait to listen to you and your husband, the words of your posts came alive and became flesh for me during your last radio broadcast. Thank you. And how wonderfully ordained that I am reading God's words on relationships on a day when the world tells us to celebrate with chocolate and flowers and often unattainable romantic fantasies. God is working through you, Jolene. And this post, for the most part (excluding passages that apply only to marriage) is a great, biblical breath of fresh air on how to resolve in any relationship. When I was reading your words in one area, I thought of my sister, and as I was reading, a co-worker came to mind. God gives us powerful words to minister to us in any situation, and you did a beautiful job of bringing illuminating His words.

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  2. I enjoyed your radio show. You and your Beloved feed off of each other in thought and mind. The "never say divorce" was such a great piece of advise. I loved your husband's analogy to pointing a gun at your boss- the trust is broken and it is very hard to take that back.

    I just have a question. I have read about the fact that both you and your beloved have been divorced. Did you both have a biblical reason to get divorced, because unless there is adultery, abandonment by an unbelieving spouse, or possibly physical endangerment, divorce is not an option, right?

    If I got divorced outside of the Bible's given exceptions when divorce is okay, can I get remarried?

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  3. Hello Felicity,
    Glad to hear you enjoyed the radio show! And, yes, we do feed off a each other. :)
    Regarding our divorces...

    (Eric Responding) I was married for 9 years. When I met her, she claimed to be a Christian, but as a young man I did not receive a whole lot of of instruction from my parents in choosing a spouse. I chose her on the basis that she said that she loved me and loved the Lord. From the first year of the marriage she said that "she wanted a divorce" hence my personal insight to the instruction given on the radio show. I never said it to her and never wanted one either. God hates divorce and so did I. I begged her not to say that word because I knew of the damage that it did to me as well as to the marriage.

    She would ask me if I was happy. My response then is the same as it is now... "The call from the Lord and the Bible is to be obedient, NOT TO BE HAPPY" I was committed for life to this woman. I was not confused with the difference between happiness (the current circumstances, or happenings) and obedience (the call of the believer to follow the Lord no matter what the circumstances are...even unto death!) I expressed to her that if she wanted a divorce that she would have to follow through with it because I never would. Needless to say she announced to me on my birthday 9 years later that she had filed for divorce. I told her that I still wasn't leaving! (I did not think that she would follow through)... she did follow through. So I was free. 1 Corinthians 7:15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.

    Although I am divorced, I never divorced anyone, but she did divorce me. Ironically, had I participated in the divorce, Jolene would never have considered me for marriage, because my character would have been ruined as a Man of God. Don't misunderstand... I do feel that after 9 years the Lord did deliver me from being a lifetime recipient of continual verbal abuse, physical abuse, and rage, but I never would have filed for divorce outside of biblical reasons, and I never did. I was committed to Obedience to the Lord no matter what... Oh how he rewarded me with Jolene for that faithfulness. By the way, the second time I was married, I let the Lord pick her. He picked someone I would have NEVER picked, yet I am blessed in this marriage beyond any relationship that I could have ever imagined. Go figure...GO LORD!

    (Jolene Responding) I was not saved when I got married the first time. He became abusive and I left. A few years later he remarried. A few years after that, I got saved. Then the Lord picked my Beloved to be my husband. Needless to say, through all of the pain of our previous marriages, the Lord has used what the enemy meant for evil to be used for His glory.

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  4. Felicity,

    I had my Beloved write his testimony, then I got busy making dinner and I just asked him to send out our reply :)...but I wanted to respond to you again because you asked about remarriage in your comment. Do you mind if I take your question and respond to it in a blog post? I believe there are others that might want to hear our response.
    Thanks friend!

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  5. Thanks Jolene (and Eric), I loved that in your response, Eric said that God picked Jolene for him, just as Jolene has written about how God arranged her marriage with Eric. I think it is really inspirational to hear that from a man, because women are so apt to focus on the romantic notion of their Father finding them the ordained man for their lives, that I think it is good to remember that God is also just as concerned about making sure He has a hand in ordaining us for our men too.

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  6. I have such mixed feelings of resolving conflict late at night. My hubby and I have never gone to bed with what I would consider wrath, or even anger in our hearts. But I can't function after 10:00 our fights are much worse. I try my best to bring up issues in the morning for thus reason.

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  7. Hi KM,
    I hear you about being tired late at night and I, too, have struggled with the fatigue factor. I have had the thought that we could probably resolve our issue much better if we get some rest and talk in the morning.:)

    However, I resolved a long time ago to follow the Bible as best as I could because whether I fully understand it or not, I believe that God, the Creator, knows me, the creation, better than I know myself.

    There are many times that I am not filled with wrath when my Beloved and I don't see eye to eye. But am I at peace? Am I 'one' with my husband before I put my head on the pillow? It's a discipline to work through our issues even when my body is screaming for rest. During those times of fatigue and irritability, I need to have even more self-control. I guess I kinda liken it to fasting; spending that time with the Lord, while denying our body of something as common as food.

    Regardless of how I feel, I'm not very bright and I KNOW that God is a lot smarter than I am, so I try to stick to teaching only what the Bible says.

    Thanks for your comment and blessings to you,
    ~jolene

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  8. Dear sweet friend,
    Your comment so ministered to my heart! Glad to hear that what I shared has helped you in your relationships. To God be the glory.
    ~jolene

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  9. Hi Joanne,
    Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story with us. Yes, I did take the time to read your entire comment! :)
    I am sorry you had to endure so much pain but it's wonderful to hear that you have a marriage now that is full of love and forgiveness. Seeing how your first husband had many affairs, you had biblical grounds to file for a divorce. You weren't in the wrong and don't let the enemy tell you otherwise (or other Christians, for that matter.)
    Blessings to you,
    ~jolene

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  10. Thank you, Jolene for sharing this important post and the radio program. It is a timely reminder to me, too. I pray this will bless and help many. Very encouraging stuff.

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  11. Hi Jacqueline,
    Thanks for stopping by and for your sweet and encouraging comment! I appreciate your weekly linkup as well. Thanks for hosting it!
    Blessings to you,
    ~jolene

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  12. Welcome to SDG! I think your post is so full of encouragement and scripturally sound advice. The part that hit my heart the most was about the bitterness growing in my marriage. I think we are in a better place now, but I would often use bitterness as a form of self-protection, which then continued to break down trust and intimacy even further. Since I am an in a better place with God, I can seek Him for protection and not have to formulate my own walls.

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  13. Choosing your words carefully ... this sure helps, doesn't it.

    Welcome to the Soli Sisters.

    Fondly,
    Glenda

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  14. Welcome to SDG...wise words...I think it is so important to learn healthy conflict resolution so avoid a build-up of anger and bitterness. Blessings to you!

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  15. Hi Jolene - I love this and as my marriage is very important to me and the seas get rough sometimes, I am bookmarking this page :)
    It is definitely something I want to sink my teeth into more firmly. Thank you for linking up with Winsome Wednesday and I hope anyone out there who links up who needs to read this, I pray God leads them here
    God bless
    Tracy

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  16. I loved your post! I have been focusing on my marriage recently and trying to pour love into it. I would add a bullet point to your post, but have no scripture to back it up.

    Always touch his feet with your toes as your are falling asleep, no matter how the day has gone.

    I've been trying this and I love it!

    Thanks for inspiring!

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  17. Thanks for the welcome, Glenda!
    ~jolene

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  18. Thanks for the welcome, Jen! You are definitely right about not having to formulate our walls because of Him! Thanks for stopping by.
    ~jolene

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  19. Oh so sweet Tracy! Your comment ministered to my soul. :)
    Thanks for hosting the linkup and for posting my buttons on your site to spread the word! Yes, a cyber-friendship sounds wonderful. We will have to connect some more.
    Blessings,
    ~jolene

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  20. Hi Joy,
    I am so glad my post blessed you...
    and the foot thing is too cute. You must have physical touch as your love language. :)
    ~jolene

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  21. Thanks Dolly, you are right about the build-up!
    Blessings,
    ~jolene

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Your kind remarks bless me tremendously!

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